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WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 10, 2003 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Don't grieve that your roses have thorns. Rejoice instead that your thorns have roses." - Author Unknown Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright 2002, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.htm ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: On May 23, 1984, this remarkable story was carried over the wires of the Associated Press As a child, Mary Groda was unable to learn reading and writing. Educational experts labeled her "retarded." In her adolescent years, she was given an additional label, "incorrigible," and was sentenced to two years in a reformatory. Ironically, it was inside the oppressive confines of the reformatory that Mary rose to the challenge of learning. By working hard at her studies, sometimes as long as sixteen hours per day, she earned her GED. However, additional difficulty was to visit Mary Groda. Upon leaving the reformatory, she became pregnant without the security of marriage. Then, two years later, a second pregnancy resulted in a stroke, immediately erasing her hard-earned powers of reading and writing. With the help and support of her father, Mary battled back, regaining what she had lost. In dire financial straits, she was forced to accept welfare. Then, in order to make ends meet, she took in seven foster children. It was during this period that Mary began taking classes at a community college. Upon completion of her course work, she applied to a medical school and was accepted. In the spring of 1984, Mary Groda Lewis (she was now married) paraded in full academic regalia across the graduation stage. That day the woman who had been labeled "retarded" and "incorrigible" received another label - this time a diploma listing her as Mary Groda Lewis, M.D. When crisis comes, some people fumble, falter, and fade, while others, like Mary, struggle, survive, and surmount. The difference between those who fail and those who succeed when facing hardship is not education, social class, or intelligence. It has more to do with innate awareness combined with the motivation to triumph over trouble. The truth is that the world is filled with people who have had to deal with the "worst" that life sends and have emerged winners. By Victor Parachin, Tulsa, Oklahoma For more on Mary's story visit: http://starbulletin.com/2002/04/02/features/story1.html Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) July 2001, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com Submitted by Dale Galusha ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: The printing of newspapers, magazines and books offer limitless possibilities for error, human and mechanical. When goofs do occur, editors scurry to print corrections, even though we often prefer the misprint to the corrected version. Part 1 of 2 [Jan 10, 20] Here just a few samples: IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you are one of hundreds of parachuting enthusiasts who bought our Easy Sky Diving book, please make the following correction: on page 8, line 7, the words "state zip code" should have read "pull rip cord." It was incorrectly reported last Friday that today is T-shirt Appreciation Day. In fact, it is actually Teacher Appreciation Day. From a California bar association's newsletter: Correction -- the following typo appeared in our last bulletin: "Lunch will be gin at 12:15 p.m." Please correct to read "12 noon." There are two important corrections to the information in the update on our Deep Relaxation professional development program. First, the program will include meditation, not medication. Second, it is experiential, not experimental. Our article about Jewish burial customs contained an error: Mourners' clothing is rent — that is, torn -- not rented. In the City Beat section of Friday's paper, firefighter Dwight Brady was misidentified. His nickname in the department is "Dewey." Another firefighter is nicknamed "Weirdo." We apologize for our mistake. Source: Monday Fodder mailto:dgaufaaa@iohk.com?subject=Subscribe_Monday_Fodder ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A hospital posted a notice in the nurses' mess saying: "Remember, the first five minutes of a human being's life are the most dangerous." Underneath, a nurse had written: "The last five are pretty risky, too." Source: Kitty's Daily Mews, Copyright (c) 1997-2002 All rights reserved worldwide, http://www.katscratch.com/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Something's Wrong Here While U.S. citizens make up only 4 percent of the world's population, they spend almost half of all money used to obtain medical care. Yet the U.S. ranks twenty-fifth in the world in health as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality - behind almost all rich countries and a few poor ones. - Stephen Bezruchka, M.D., in Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/ Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) August 2001, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com Submitted by Dale Galusha |